Making knobs

[Jisch]

A friend posted up on line how he made knobs using a hole saw, I thought I'd give it a try:

I glued up some walnut and maple - as I wasn't convinced this was going to work I didn't put a lot of effort in here, but I can imagine using some laminates and making some cool knobs down the road.

I clamped down the wood, drilled the shaft hole first, then without moving the wood, I used a hole saw with the drill removed to cut the knob:

I found that you really need to use a forstner bit to keep the hole from wandering:

Then I put them on the lathe and sanded them:

I have two different height knobs with stacked knobs:

I need to do a bit more sanding and finish them, but worth the time for sure. I'll probably start over again with nicer woods and maybe some kind of way to indicate where the knob is:

And I know I could have just turned them on the lathe, but there are other complexity with that - mostly that I'd have to do a lot of gluing to make a long laminated stick to turn, this seemed pretty easy.

 

[lbridenstine]

Fretboard side dots seem to be a go-to for position markers. Or you could glue a piece of veneer into a thin cut on one edge.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Nice. I've wanted to make knobs...don't have a lathe though.

Also, plug/tenon cutters will probably give you better results.

Grizzly H7693 Deep Plug Cutter, 6-Piece - Power Drill Accessories - Amazon.com

 

[sissy kathy]

EDITED for brevity A friend posted up on line how he made knobs using a hole saw, I thought I'd give it a try:...
I clamped down the wood, drilled the shaft hole first, then without moving the wood, I used a hole saw with the drill removed to cut the knob:

I found that you really need to use a forstner bit to keep the hole from wandering:....

And I know I could have just turned them on the lathe, but there are other complexity with that - mostly that I'd have to do a lot of gluing to make a long laminated stick to turn, this seemed pretty easy.

No, instead of drilling the pilot hole only, shorten the pilot bit up and start you hole saw cut too; THEN you can remove the pilot bit and continue drilling and the hole saw won't wander.

 

[Jisch]

That's a good idea, I'll have to look of that's possible with this hole saw.

 

[sissy kathy]

That's a good idea, I'll have to look of that's possible with this hole saw.

On the off chance that you can't shorten the pilot bit, just tack another piece of wood on top of your knob wood to add thickness and proceed as normal.

 

[Jisch]

It won't work with this hole saw - the drill is a specific size and too big for the potentiometer shaft. The drill has a flat spot in it for the set screw to hold it in place. If I tried to put a smaller drill in it would be off center.

 

[Phil Mastro]

Nice. I've wanted to make knobs...don't have a lathe though.

Also, plug/tenon cutters will probably give you better results.

Grizzly H7693 Deep Plug Cutter, 6-Piece - Power Drill Accessories - Amazon.com

+1 on the plug cutters.

 

[MrArose13]

I've been doing this for a while, plug and tenon cutters are nice but real tricky to get the hole for the pot shaft centered. I recently got a hole saw to try out, the plan is as sissy kathy suggested. If your pilot bit is larger than 1/4" see if you can find some brass/aluminum/ or even copper tubing that matches your OD and has an ID of 1/4" and epoxy (or ca glue) it in. If need be, add a set screw. You can see my process here .

 

[Jisch]

I decided it was worth it to spend some time making these a bit better. Even though the knobs were the same height as the ones on the bass, I didn't like how tall they looked, it was a combination of them being slightly smaller in diameter and that the single control knobs (volume and mix) weren't sitting flat - the nut for the potentiometer was getting in the way - I didn't notice that the other knobs all have recesses. I shortened the knobs a bit using a dremel and added a bit of relief underneath.

Then I cut a slot in the top of each using a hack saw - it ended up being the perfect thickness for some strips of mahogany I had. I think I'll also sand a slight flat spot in the knob where the indicator slot is:

I'll finish them with tung oil after they're sanded. I'll definitely use this for making knobs for my next bass, though I'll probably use a few more layers of laminate and maybe contour them a bit by hand after I get them out of the hole saw.

 

[Jisch]

I've been doing this for a while

Whoa, that's quite a process!

 

[Jisch]

I put a coat of tung oil on and the contrast between the mahogany and the walnut all but disappeared. I took the dremel and made a divot where the indicator is, now I have to refinish them. I figure if I can't see the mahogany, I can see and feel the divot.

 

[sissy kathy]

It won't work with this hole saw - the drill is a specific size and too big for the potentiometer shaft. The drill has a flat spot in it for the set screw to hold it in place. If I tried to put a smaller drill in it would be off center.

Then you need a different hole saw. Before I retired Milwaukee made a hole saw that took a 1/4" pilot bit, was adjustable and took cups down to about 3/4". If you have a Harbor Freight near you, or on line, they have a set that has a hollow arbor. the pilot bit is infinetly adjustable because it slides completely through the arbor and can poke out the shaft to the hole saw. MOST hole saw combinations I had reason to deal with took 1/4" or smaller pilot drills; I'd look for one of them.

 

[Texan]

You are almost there. Take the pilot bit out of the hole saw, it's more trouble than it's worth. Clamp the wood in place, make the bore for the shaft, then swap to a forstner bit for the recess to sit over the pot nut. Then use your hole cutter to cut the knob. I then drill a pilot hold on the side for a set screw, tap it and the chuck up a shaft to attach the knob in the press for sanding. I've made almost 150 sets for people using this method.

 

[scottyd]

I love building knobs. The stacks can be tricky. I like to use my small metal lathe and turn down the cut offs from the bodies. For the set screws I tap the wood itself soak the tap in CA re-tap, re-soak and tap again before putting the set screw in. SO far so good.

 

[Deep Cat]

You are almost there. Take the pilot bit out of the hole saw, it's more trouble than it's worth. Clamp the wood in place, make the bore for the shaft, then swap to a forstner bit for the recess to sit over the pot nut. Then use your hole cutter to cut the knob. I then drill a pilot hold on the side for a set screw, tap it and the chuck up a shaft to attach the knob in the press for sanding. I've made almost 150 sets for people using this method.

Those knobs are crazy. Well played, sir. Well played.

 

[Texan]

Those knobs are crazy. Well played, sir. Well played.

Thanks, I try to be unique and everyone that I have made them for really likes them. I love making them and mixing the woods and metals for contrast. Its funny how something so small really makes a Bass or guitar come together.

 

[Jisch]

This will probably get me banned from LC for misuse of power tools, but I've made knobs a couple of different ways with varying success. I like the idea of using small branches because they naturally have the concentric rings, the problem has been getting the hole in the bottom square with the rest of the knob. It seems like the center of the growth rings would be the center of the branch, but after trying this a few times, that is not necessarily true - and getting a drill to go "straight" is challenging - basically there is no "straight".

This morning I was thinking that if I drilled the hole first and sanded the knob straight to the hole, it might be easier to make everything square. I don't have a lathe, but I do have a drill and a dremel! I've tried doing something similar to this just using sandpaper and it just doesn't bite hard enough to remove material without knocking it off center.

So I drilled a short hole in the branch, took the drill bit and reversed it in the drill, put a screw into the knob blank and tightened it against the smooth part of the drill. Then I spun the drill while holding a spinning dremel with a sanding cylinder to carve the knob. It worked great. I need to perfect a few things, but this could be a good, quick way to make knobs. They won't be perfect, but I think that's part of the charm with this type of knob - to keep some of the natural elements of the branch. Now that I think of it I could do the same with any wood really. hmmm

It's pretty much round and perfectly concentric on the hole.

 

[Bassworship1]

You are almost there. Take the pilot bit out of the hole saw, it's more trouble than it's worth. Clamp the wood in place, make the bore for the shaft, then swap to a forstner bit for the recess to sit over the pot nut. Then use your hole cutter to cut the knob. I then drill a pilot hold on the side for a set screw, tap it and the chuck up a shaft to attach the knob in the press for sanding. I've made almost 150 sets for people using this method.

I like the Wenge knobs you have with a wood divider. How much would you charge for a set of 5 of those with Mahogany for the center wood? With a Wenge Domed Cap?

 

[SurferJoe46]

I just used a hole saw with the 1/4" bit and cut out a few of them.

I took a trip to Radio Shack and bought a bunch of older radio knobs that were Bakelite and had a brass insert with a set screw. I hammered the knobs once and they shattered and I got the inserts out.

From that point it was just a dab of epoxy and push the brass inserts into the wooden knobs.

I made the knobs out of cherry wood, glued on a small cherrywood cap and spun them in my drill press.

Then I polished them with lighter and lighter sandpaper and then a Scotchbrite pad and a spray of Minwax Marine Spar Varnish to coat them.